Sensors may be employed in a variety of applications to provide feedback for controlling a process. For example, volume monitoring may be utilized to determine a volume of material in a vessel for emptying the vessel when filled, filling the vessel when empty, detecting leaks in the vessel, etc. Traditionally, when a vessel (e.g., a tank) required service (e.g., emptying or filling) a customer would request the required service from a service provider. The service provider may then schedule the required service based on workforce availability, material availability, routing efficiency, etc. The problem with this business model is that the customer is forced to wait for the required service, which may impact their productivity, profitability, and satisfaction with the service provider. To better serve their customer, just-in-time delivery models were developed to deliver services to customers exactly when needed, which allowed the customers to concentrate on their business without concern over raw materials. In a just-in-time model, success for both the service provider and customer may depend on the accuracy and freshness of inventory data. For example, an oil company may track levels in customer oil supply tanks to determine when a truck needs to be dispatched to refill the tanks, may track the level of oil in a customer waste oil tanks to determine how long until the tanks must be emptied, may monitor for leaking tanks, etc.
In modern installations, telemetry data may be provided by volume sensors on each tank that automatically report fill levels on a real-time basis. When functioning correctly, the volume sensors provide data required by the service provider to meet customer needs while allowing the service provider to maximize their profits through material and schedule optimization. However, when malfunctioning, volume sensors may cause issues for both customer and service provider. Volume sensors that errantly report full or empty tank conditions may cause material shortage or waste overflow conditions at a customer, which may negatively impact productivity, profitability and customer satisfaction. Moreover, without accurate volume level data the service provider is forced into a mode of operation where resources may be expended needlessly (e.g., trucks may be sent out when unneeded) or haphazardly (e.g., to service emergency customer requirements) that may impact the service provider's ability to service their customers reliably, profitability, etc.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.